RAMPS: Restoration Assessment & Monitoring Program for the Southwest
Land Enhancement Information Portal & Decision Support Center
Science briefs, RAMPS program updates and more!
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The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) seeks to assist U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other land management agencies in developing successful techniques for improving land condition in dryland ecosystems of the southwestern United States. Invasion by non-native species, wildfire, drought, and other disturbances are growing rapidly in extent and frequency, creating novel ecosystem conditions that can outpace the knowledge base of local land managers. These growing problems often cross administrative boundaries, requiring agencies to proactively work together. In light of these challenges, managers can benefit from collaborative, innovative, and dynamic approaches to sharing information. To meet this need, RAMPS has created a hub for science-based information and tools to help managers identify effective and resource-efficient strategies to successfully restore degraded areas.
Find out more about our research and read our latest newsletter here.
Sign up for our newsletter here.
Launched in June 2016, RAMPS was developed to assist U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and other land management agencies develop successful restoration strategies for the water-limited ecosystems of the Southwest. RAMPS is funded by DOI and composed of scientists and managers from multiple USGS Science Centers, DOI management agencies, and universities.
RAMPS SOLUTIONS FOR MANAGING CHALLENGING DRYLAND ECOSYSTEMS
Stakeholder engagement
PROBLEM: The importance of knowledge sharing and collaboration is well-understood. The importance of knowledge sharing and collaboration is well-understood. However, managers and scientists are often time-limited and intentions to build partnerships suffers as a result.
SOLUTION: RAMPS projects are multi-disciplinary, collaborative, and co-created. RAMPS identifies systemic gaps in restoration knowledge and develops projects and creative solutions that create new insight using scientifically-credible research. Through these solutions, RAMPS increases skills, knowledge, and expertise needed to manage public lands across the Southwest.
EXAMPLES: Symposia and meetings, peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, facilitation and collaboration, training and education
Research
PROBLEM: Several obstacles prevent land managers from implementing successful land treatments, including a lack of: information on costs relative to outcomes, post-treatment monitoring data, and science-informed innovation.
SOLUTION: RAMPS uses state-of-the-art scientific analysis and tools to increase the efficacy of land treatments across waterlimited ecosystems and finds innovative approaches to mitigate large disturbances. Through these solutions, RAMPS ensures progress in planning and implementing projects, and provides guidance and support for monitoring and adaptive management.
EXAMPLES: Data synthesis and integration, cost-benefit analysis, site re-visits, experimentation, energy development and reclamation best management practices, drought regeneration niche modeling
Decision support
PROBLEM: Scientific advancements can be difficult for land managers to access and incorporate into their project planning.
SOLUTION: RAMPS provides decision support via tools, protocols, and science delivery portals. This support distills scientific findings into readily accessible information on when, where, and how to restore. Through these solutions, RAMPS helps bridge the science-land management gap.
EXAMPLES: Land enhancement information portal, decision-support tools, newsletters and social media, information briefs, guidance on restoration techniques, and monitoring protocols
A group of land managers from the Hopi and Navajo Nations gather in a desert wash on the Hopi Nation where effective erosion-control structures were built using simple techniques. The group was part of a program named "Building Tribal Resiliency Through Native Seeds" and funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The program gathered tribal professionals led by USGS Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS), Navajo Nation Natural Heritage Program's Dine Native Plant Program, and Tolani Lake Enterprises. The program was a series of workshops designed to build capacity within tribal staff who manage natural resources.
(Credit: Molly McCormick, USGS. Public domain.)
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
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Date published: February 13, 2020Status: Active
Well Pad Reclamation and Research
Reclamation on lands impacted by energy development is complicated and extremely challenging in arid environments due to unstable soils, exotic species, and low and variable precipitation. The reclamation tactics employed by energy operators vary widely and outcomes can differ across plant communities and soil types. In order to address the knowledge gaps regarding how to successfully and...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Rebecca Mann -
Date published: September 27, 2019Status: Active
Informing Seed Transfer Guidelines and Native Plant Materials Development: Research Supporting Restoration Across the Colorado Plateau and Beyond
As restoration needs for natural landscapes grow due to higher frequency and/or intensity disturbances, pressure from invasive species, and impacts resulting from changing climates, considerable time and resources are being invested to guide the development and deployment of native plant materials (NPMs). Across lower elevations of the Colorado Plateau, a region composed primarily of public...
Attribution: Ecosystems, Southwest Biological Science Center -
Date published: February 25, 2019Status: Active
Drylands are highly vulnerable to climate and land use changes: what ecosystem changes are in store?
Improper land use during drought has been a major driver of land degradation in drylands globally, especially in the western U.S. Increasing aridity in western U.S. drylands under future climates will exacerbate risks associated with drought and land use decisions. This project provides critical observational, experimental, and modelling evidence to support our DOI partners with decision...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Jayne Belnap -
Date published: August 5, 2017Status: Active
RestoreNet: Distributed Field Trial Network for Dryland Restoration
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers and land managers are co-producing a network of restoration field trial sites on DOI and surrounding lands in the southwestern U.S. The network systematically tests restoration treatments across a broad range of landscape, soil, and climate conditions. Each site in the network is used to test suitable seed mixes and treatments that promote plant...
Contacts: Seth Munson, Molly McCormick, Katie Laushman, Rebecca Mann, Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Brad Butterfield, Elise Gornish, Loralee Larios, Akasha Faist, Helen Rowe, Christopher Lortie, Caroline A. Havrilla -
Date published: April 24, 2017
Colorado Plateau Futures: Understanding Agents of Change on the Colorado Plateau to Facilitate Collaborative Adaptation
The objective of this interdisciplinary research effort is to 1) characterize agents of change important to land management decision makers on the Colorado Plateau; 2) identify and analyze relationships between agents of change and key landscape attributes and processes; 3) collectively assess the influence of agents of change and attributes and processes on the services provided by the...
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center -
Date published: February 28, 2017Status: Active
Southwest Energy Development and Drought (SWEDD)
Deserts of the southwestern US are replete with oil and gas deposits as well as sites for solar, wind, and geothermal energy production. In the past, many of these resources have been too expensive to develop, but increased demand and new technologies have led to an increase in exploration and development. However, desert ecosystems generally have low resilience to disturbance. More frequent,...
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Date published: December 29, 2016
A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts of Western U.S. Drylands
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are commonly found on the soil surface in arid and semi-arid ecosystems (collectively called drylands). Biocrusts can consist of mosses, cyanobacteria, lichens, algae, and microfungi, and they strongly interact with the soil. These organisms or consortium of disparate organisms, depending on the specific biocrust, are important to the functioning of...
Contacts: Jayne Belnap, Matthew BowkerAttribution: Southwest Biological Science Center -
Date published: December 16, 2016
Restoration and Ecosystem Recovery Dynamics in Arid and Semiarid Landscapes
Dryland regions have been degraded by invasive species, wildfire, overgrazing, agricultural conversion, energy development, recreational activity, and urban growth. These disturbances and others are accelerated by one of the fastest growing human populations in the country and a pressing background of decreasing water availability due to drought and elevated temperatures that are projected to...
Contacts: Seth MunsonAttribution: Southwest Biological Science Center -
Date published: December 16, 2016
Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program Field Trial Study
In the southwest US, monsoon precipitation increases sharply along a northwest to southeast gradient. Pleuraphis jamesii or galleta grass, is an important C4 grass species that spans across this large range in precipitation pattern. In this study we are assessing the ability of galleta grass to adapt to changes in the seasonality of rainfall (termed “plasticity”). In the fall of 2014, we...
Contacts: Mike Duniway, Ph.D., Dave HooverAttribution: Southwest Biological Science Center -
Date published: December 15, 2016Status: Active
Dryland Forest Sustainability
Forests in the semiarid southwestern U.S. are expected to be highly vulnerable to increasing aridity anticipated with climate change. In particular, low elevation forests and the processes of tree regeneration and mortality are likely to be highly susceptible to climate change. This work seeks to characterize how, where and when forest ecosystems will change and identify management...
Contacts: John B BradfordAttribution: Environments Program, Southwest Biological Science Center
RAMPS is publishing papers relevant to land management and improving the condition of ecosystems in the Southwest. For quick briefs of these papers, visit the RAMPS Land Enhancement Information Portal.
Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the...
Bradford, John B.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Mccormick, Molly; Baron, Jill; Bowen, Zack; Bristol, Sky; Carlisle, Daren; Crimmins, Theresa; Cross, Paul; DeVivo, Joe; Dietze, Mike; Freeman, Mary; Goldberg, Jason; Hooten, Mevin; Hsu, Leslie; Jenni, Karen; Keisman, Jennifer; Kennen, Jonathan; Lee, Kathy; Lesmes, David; Loftin, Keith; Miller, Brian W.; Murdoch, Peter; Newman, Jana; Prentice, Karen L.; Rangwala, Imtiaz; Read, Jordan; Sieracki, Jennifer; Sofaer, Helen; Thur, Steve; Toevs, Gordon; Werner, Francisco; White, C. LeAnn; White, Timothy; Wiltermuth, MarkRestoreNet: An emerging restoration network reveals controls on seeding success across dryland ecosystems
Drylands are Earth's largest terrestrial biome and support one‐third of the global population. However, they are also highly vulnerable to land degradation. Despite widespread demand for dryland restoration and rehabilitation, little information is available to help land managers effectively re‐establish native perennial vegetation across drylands...
Havrilla, Caroline Ann; Munson, Seth M.; Mccormick, Molly; Laushman, Katherine Mary; Balazs, Kathleen R.; Butterfield, Bradley J.Robust ecological drought projections for drylands in the 21st century
(Bradford) Dryland ecosystems may be especially vulnerable to expected 21st century increases in temperatures and aridity because they are tightly controlled by patterns of moisture availability. However, climate impact assessments in drylands are difficult because ecological dynamics are dictated by drought conditions that are difficult to define...
Bradford, John; Schlaepfer, Daniel Rodolphe; Lauenroth, William K.; Palmquist, Kyle A.Low stand density moderates growth declines during hot droughts in semi-arid forests
Increasing heat and aridity in coming decades is expected to negatively impact tree growth and threaten forest sustainability in dry areas. Maintaining low stand density has the potential to mitigate the negative effects of increasingly severe droughts by minimizing competitive intensity.However, the direct impact of stand density on the growing...
Andrews, Caitlin M.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Fraver, Shawn; Palik, Brian; Battaglia, Michael A.; Bradford, John B.The right trait in the right place at the right time: Matching traits to environment improves restoration outcomes
(Munson) The challenges of restoration in dryland ecosystems are growing due to a rise in anthropogenic disturbance and increasing aridity. Plant functional traits are often used to predict plant performance and can offer a window into the potential outcomes of restoration efforts across environmental gradients. We tracked 15 years of seeding...
Balazs, Kathleen R.; Kramer, Andrea T.; Munson, Seth M.; Talkington, Nora; Still, Shannon; Butterfield, Bradley J.Assessment of population genetics and climatic variability can refine climate‐informed seed transfer guidelines
Restoration guidelines increasingly recognize the importance of genetic attributes in translocating native plant materials (NPMs). However, when species‐specific genetic information is unavailable, seed transfer guidelines use climate‐informed seed transfer zones (CSTZs) as an approximation. While CSTZs may improve how NPMs are developed and/or...
Massatti, Robert; Shriver, Robert K.; Winkler, Daniel E.; Richardson, Bryce A.; Bradford, JohnBridging the research-management gap: Landscape ecology in practice on public lands in the western United States
The field of landscape ecology has grown and matured in recent decades, but incorporating landscape science into land management decisions remains challenging. Many lands in the western United States are federally owned and managed for multiple uses, including recreation, conservation, and energy development. We argue for stronger integration of...
Carter, Sarah K.; Pilliod, David; Haby, Travis S.; Prentice, Karen L.; Aldridge, Cameron L.; Anderson, Patrick J.; Bowen, Zachary H.; Bradford, John; Cushman, Samuel A.; DeVivo, Joseph C.; Duniway, Michael C.; Hathaway, Ryan S.; Nelson, Lisa; Schultz, Courtney A.; Schuster, Rudy M.; Trammell, E. Jamie; Weltzin, Jake F.Stand density, drought, and herbivory constrain ponderosa pine regeneration pulse
Trees in dry forests often regenerate in episodic pulses when wet periods coincide with ample seed production. Factors leading to success or failure of regeneration pulses are poorly understood. We investigated the impacts of stand thinning on survival and growth of the 2013 cohort of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson...
Kolb, Thomas E.; Flathers, Kelsey; Bradford, John; Andrews, Caitlin M.; Asherin, Lance A.; Moser, W. KeithGaps and hotspots in the state of knowledge of pinyon-juniper communities
Pinyon-juniper (PJ) plant communities cover a large area across North America and provide critical habitat for wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and rich cultural resources. These communities occur across a variety of environmental gradients, disturbance regimes, structural conditions and species compositions, including three species...
Hartsell, Jessica A.; Copeland, Stella M.; Munson, Seth M.; Butterfield, Bradley J.; Bradford, JohnClimate-driven shifts in soil temperature and moisture regimes suggest opportunities to enhance assessments of dryland resilience and resistance
Assessing landscape patterns in climate vulnerability, as well as resilience and resistance to drought, disturbance, and invasive species, requires appropriate metrics of relevant environmental conditions. In dryland systems of western North America, soil temperature and moisture regimes have been widely utilized as an indicator of resilience to...
Bradford, John; Schlaepfer, Daniel R.; Lauenroth, William K.; Palmquist, Kyle A.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Maestas, Jeremy D.; Campbell, Steven B.Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 18 Report)
Introduction A primary focus of the Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program (CPNPP) is to identify and develop appropriate native plant materials (NPMs) for current and future restoration projects. Multiple efforts have characterized the myriad challenges inherent in providing appropriate seed resources to enable effective, widespread restoration...
Massatti, Robert; Winkler, Daniel; Reed, Sasha; Duniway, Michael; Munson, Seth; Bradford, JohnAssessing rangeland health under climate variability and change
RANGELAND HEALTH IN A CHANGING WORLD Rangeland health is an integrated metric that describes a complex suite of ecosystem properties and processes as applied to resource management. While the concept of “healthy” landscapes has a long history, the term “rangeland health” was codified in the US in 1994 as part of an effort to move towards a...
Bradford, John B.; Duniway, Michael C.; Munson, Seth M.Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
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Date published: December 14, 2016
APPLICATION - RAMPS Climate Partitioning Tool
The purpose of this application is to aid sampling efforts along climate gradients for a geographic region of interest. Examples of potential uses of this tool include: sampling plant materials for common garden studies, establishing common garden arrays, establishing vegetation transects, or banking seed for native plant conservation. Funding support from BLM Colorado Plateau Native Plant...
Attribution: Ecosystems, Southwest Biological Science Center -
Date published: December 14, 2016
APPLICATION - RAMPS Seed Selection Tool
The purpose of this application is to aid seed selection efforts of restoration and revegetation practitioners by matching the climate of georeferenced seed sources to potential target sites. Funding support from BLM Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program.
Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center
LAND ENHANCEMENT INFORMATION PORTAL AND DECISION SUPPORT CENTER
The Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS) supports land management by offering the latest science relevant that can be incorporated into decision making today.
Sign up for newsletter updates here: https://listserv.usgs.gov/mailman/listinfo/ramps
See all USGS RAMPS publications here.
RAMPS Newsletter - Summer 2020 Edition
This season's edition of the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest Newsletter contains recent program highlights including research updates, new projects, field updates and more.
To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit: ...
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Date published: August 10, 2020
RAMPS Newsletter - Summer 2020 Edition
This season's edition of the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest Newsletter contains recent program highlights including research updates, new projects, field updates and more.
To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit: ...
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Date published: August 3, 2020
National Seed Strategy Progress Report
Stay tuned for more on the National Seed Strategy Progress Report. The reporting portal is now closed. For more information, contact Molly McCormick mmccormick@usgs.gov
Attribution: Ecosystems, Southwest Biological Science Center -
Date published: July 22, 2020
RESEARCH BRIEF: RestoreNet Report Card
RestoreNet is a networked ecological experiment testing restoration treatments across the arid Southwest. Seven experimental sites were installed in the Summer of 2018 on the rangelands of Northern Arizona. The experiments tested seed mixes with various treatments to increase revegetation success (see photos above). These are the results after the first year.
Read more about...
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Date published: May 20, 2020
RESEARCH BRIEF: Cost- benefit analysis of vegetation removal + seeding
Weighing costs relative to outcomes: woody and invasive plant removal followed by seeding in shrublands and woodlands.
New study by RAMPS researchers examines how the costs of vegetation treatments related to outcomes.
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Date published: May 18, 2020
RAMPS Newsletter - Spring 2020 Edition
This season's edition of the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest Newsletter contains recent program highlights including research updates from our RestoreNet experiment, recently awarded funding, field updates and more.
To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit: ...
Below are partners associated with this project.
More information regarding topics important to land managers and communities in the Southwest U.S.
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Why doesn't a drought end when it rains?
Rainfall in any form will provide some drought relief. A good analogy might be how medicine and illness relate to each other. A single dose of medicine can alleviate symptoms of illness, but it usually takes a sustained program of medication to cure an illness. Likewise, a single rainstorm will not break the drought, but it might provide temporary... -
What causes drought?
A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions that results in water-related problems. The amount of precipitation at a particular location varies from year to year, but over a period of years, the average amount is fairly constant. In the deserts of the Southwest, the average precipitation is less than 3 inches per year. In contrast, the...